Folding turntable



April 1966 D. B. JOHNSTON ETAL 3,246,613

FOLDING TURNTABLE Filed July 2.0, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTQRS Qw QvmM BY QMMN ATTORNEYS.

ll- 1966 D. B. JOHNSTON ETAIL.

FOLDING TURNTABLE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 20, 1964 INVENTORS ,3 W mmATTORNEYS.

United States Patent 3,246,613 FOLDING TURNTABLE David Bruce Johnston,132 Skyline Lane, Stamford,

Conn., and Nicholas G. Cristy, 9 S. View Sh, Pleasantville, N.Y.

Filed July 20, 1964, Ser. No. 383,663 11 Claims. (Cl. 108-20) Thisinvention relates to turntables such as are used for stage productionsand display purposes; and more particularly to folding turntables.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved turntable whichfolds so that it becomes small enough for transport by truck from placeto place without requiring disassembly. With a sixteen-foot turntable ofconventional construction, four or five or more men may require threehours to assemble it at a new location to which the turntable isdelivered in a state of disassembly that is necessary fortransportation. The turntable of this invention can be rolled down aramp from a truck, rolled into position and unfolded and put intooperation by two men in five minutes.

Another object of the invention is to provide a folding turntable of thecharacter indicated with a platform having a center portion and flapshinged to opposite sides of the center portion, and corresponding tosections of the base and being constructed to fold with the sections ofthe base about parallel hinges. The platform is supported from the trackby wheels at angularly-spaced locations around the platform, and thewheels that support the flaps of the platform are attached to parts ofthe assembly so as to fold. with the other parts of the turntable.

Another object is to provide a folding turntable with a platform havingflap portions that fold along parallel hinges at opposite sides of acenter portion of the platform, and with a base that has a circulartrack made with sections that fold like the flap portions but abouthinges that are offset from the hinge connections of the flap portionsso that the flap portions and track sections can fold upwardly withoutinterfering with one another.

In the preferred construction, the flap portions of the platform areconnected with the track sections so that the folding of the flapportions of the platform lifts the track sections into folded positions,but the connections are detachable to permit the track to be put downand leveled at a new location before being covered by a flap portion ofthe platform.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear orbe pointed out as the description proceeds.

In the drawing, forming a part hereof, in which like referencecharacters indicate corresponding parts in all the views:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view showing the improved turntable of thisinvention in operating position;

FIGURE 2 is a view similar to FIGURE 1 but shows the first step in thefolding of the turntable;

FIGURES 3 and 4 are views similar to FIGURES 1 and 2, but showingsubsequent steps in the folding of the turntable;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary, top plan view of the turntablewith the platform panels removed to show the underlying supportingstructure, the wheel supports and the driving mechanism;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary, diagrammatic view on the plane 66 of FIGURE2;

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged, fragmentary detail view of one of thesupporting rollers for the turntable; and

FIGURES 8 and 9 are enlarged, fragmentary sectional views taken on thelines 8-8 and 9--9, respectively, of FIGURE 5.

3346513 Patented Apr. 19, 1966 FIGURE 1 shows a turntable 12 which is ofcircular shape and which has a center portion 14 and flap portions 16and 17 connected to the center portion along hinge lines 18. Theturntable is supported on a circular track 20 which is made up of acenter section 22 and two folding sections 24 and 25 which are connectedto the center section 22 by hinges 27 The center portion 14 and the flapportions 16 and 17 are supported from the track 24 by wheels 31 and 3 2.These wheels are preferably of similar construction and in the preferredembodiment of the invention they are caster wheels. The wheels 31 areattached to the flap 16 and the wheels 32 are attached to the centerportion 14. There are similar wheels 31 attached to the other flapportion 17, but these wheels are not visible in the drawing.

The flap portion 16 has two wheels 31, and so does the flap portion 17.The center portion has four wheels 32, two at each end, thus making atotal of eight supporting wheels for the illustrated embodiment of theinvention.

When the turntable is in folded condition, it may be transported fromplace to place on other caster wheels 34, attached to the center portion14, and capable of vertical movement, as will be explained more fully inconnection with FIGURE 9. For the present, it is sufficient tounderstand that the wheels 34 can be raised into positions above thelevel of the track 20 soas not to interfer with the rotation of theturntable on thetrack 20; and the wheels 34 can be lowered into aposition in which they support the track 2i and all other parts of theturntable with a clearance above an underlying surface on which thewheels 34 roll for moving the folded turntable from one location toanother.

FIGURE 2 shows the first step in folding the turntable. A frame 38 isplaced on top of the center portion 14. The bottom of this frame is ofsubstantially the same width as the center portion 14, and the frame 38has sloping sides 39 which converge toward one another as they extendupwardly. The flap portion 17 is swung upwardly along the hinge line 18and into position to rest against one of the sides 39 of the frame 38.Since the flap portion 17 passes beyond its vertical position beforecontacting with the frame 38, it will be held against the frame bygravity.

FIGURE 3 shows the next step in the folding of the turntable. The otherflap portion 16 is swung upwardly along the hinge line 18 and intoposition to rest against the other sloping face of the frame 38.

The flap portions 16 and 17 are then held against the sides of the frame38 by a die 40 which connects with a hook 42 on each of the flapportions 16 and 17. This die 40 is merely representative of the meansfor holding the flap portions 16 and 17 in their folded positions incontact with the frame 38.

FIGURE 4 illustrates the next step in the folding of the turntable. Thetrack section 24 is swung upwardly on the hinges 27. In the preferredconstruction, the center section 22 of the track is slightly wider thanthe center portion 14 of .the turntable so that the section 24 of thetrack can swing upwardly into at least a substantially vertical positionwithout interference from the folded flap portion 16. A correspondingtrack section 24' (FIG- URES 5 and 6) is folded up on the other side ofthe turntable. FIGURE 6 shows the way in Which the track section 24 canmove into a substantially vertical position about its hinge 27 beforecoming in contact with the folded flap portion 17 because of the extraWidth of the center track section 22 with respect to the center portion14 of the turntable.

The track sections 24 and 24' are held in their upright,

folded positions by clips 46, best shown in figure.

The center portion 14 and the flap portions 16 and 17 are preferablymade with plywood panels 51 and 52, respectively, supported on frameelements which are shown in FIGURE 5.

For example, the center portion 14 has side frame elements 56 extendingfor the entire length of the center portion 14 and along both of theside edges of the center portion. These side frame elements 56 areconnected together at their ends by arcuate frame elements 58 and areconnected together at spaced inter-mediate locations by other transverseframe elements 59. In the preferred construction, the frame elements 56,58 and 59 are square tubes, as shown in FIGURE 6, and their top surfacesare in a common plane so as to provide spaced areas of support for theplywood panel 1.

The flap portion 17 is made with a side frame 62, an arcuate peripheralframe element 64 and intermediate transverse frame elements 66. In thepreferred construction, all of these frame elements 62, 64 and 66 arepreferably square tubes with their top surfaces in a common plane forsupporting the plywood panels 52. It will be understood that the otherflap portion 16 is of similar construction.

FIGURE 6 shows the way in which the flap portion 17 is connected to thecenter portion 14 along the hingle line 18. -A hinge 70, which may be acontinuous piano-type hinge or which may consist of a number of ofspaced and aligned elements, is connected one one side to the side frameelement 56 and on the other side to the frame element 62. The axis ofthe hinge is on the hinge line 18.

In the preferred construction, the hinge 70 is shaped so that the panel52 can swing from the folded position shown in FIGURE 6 to a horizontalposition in alignment with the panel 51 and then somewhat further beyondthis horizontal position. However, in the opera tion of the turntable,the track is located so that all sections are in the same plane and thewheels which support the flap portion 17 maintain the plywood panel 52in alignment with the panel 51 during rotation of the turntable. Thusthe weight of the turntable when loaded is carried from the flap portion17, through the wheels to the track instead of making the flap portion17 a cantilever element supported from the hinge 70, as would be likelyto occur if the hinge 70 could not swing somewhat beyond the positionwhich leaves the panels 5 1 and 52 in a common horizontal plane.

FIGURE 7 shows one of the wheels 31 located on the track 20. The trackconstruction illustrated is a channel section, with its open side facingdownward and with a track pad 74 extending across the open end andwelded to the channel section to provide contact elements for moreeffectively supporting the track '20 on uneven ground.

The wheel 31 has an axle 76 connected with a yoke 78 which has a pivotbearing 80 at its upper end; and the yoke 78 is preferably shaped so asto locate the axle 76 behind the axis of the pivot bearing 80 so thatthe wheel 31 rolls on the track 20 as a caster wheel. The constructionof all of the wheels 31, and also the wheels 32, is preferably similar.

The pivot bearing 80 is connected to a plate 82 (FIG- URE 5) secured toauxiliary frame elements 84 which are connected to and extend betweensuccessive transverse frame elements 66. The pivot bearings for thewheels 32 are connected with plates 82 attached to the side frameelements 56 of the center portion 14.

The center track section 22 includes arcuate rail portions 90 secured toconnecting frames 92 which extend under the frame elements 59 of thecenter portion of the turntable. The arcuate rail portions 90 extendbeyond the connecting frames 92 in the direction of the length of thetrack and this locates the hinges 27 beyond the sides of the centerportion 14, as has already been explained in connection with FIGURE 6.

There are cross frames 94 connected between the connecting frames 92 atthe center region of the turntable. These cross frames 94 support aplate 96 (FIGURE 8) by which a hub 98 is carried. This hub 98 holds therotary portion of the turntable centered with respect to the track andalso supports the weight of the center of the turntable.

The connection of the center portion 14 with the hub 98 includes a stud100 secured to a plate 102 carried by auxiliary frame elements 104 and106, the former being connected to the latter and the latter beingconnected with two of the frame elements 59, as shown clearly in FIGURE5. The stud 100 extends through a bushing 108 and there are thrustbearings 110 for supporting the weight of the turntable. This bearingconstruction, shown in FIGURE 8, is representative of a center bearingconnecting the turntable to the stationary, underlying frame to whichthe circular track is attached and to means for carrying both radial andvertical loading of the rotating portion of the turntable at the centerof the turntable.

A cylindrical flange extends downward from the transverse frame elements66; and power for rotating the turntable is supplied to the flange 120by a driving roller 122. This roller 122 is at the low speed end of aspeed reducer 124 secured to a plate 126. Power is transmitted to thehigh speed end of the speed reducer 124 from an electric motor 128 by achain-and-sprocket drive 130. The motor 128 is secured to the same plate126 as the speed reducer; and the plate 126 is supported by frame angles132 attached at opposite ends to the frame elements 66.

The plate 126, the roller 122, the speed reducer 124 and the motor 128are movable as a unit toward and from the horizontal flange 120. Thereare rods 134 extending along the plate 126 on opposite sides of themotor 128. These rods are secured to the fixed frame of the apparatus;and the rods 134 extend through bearing sleeves 136 which are attachedto the plate 126 by brackets 138. A helical spring 140 on each of therods 134 is compressed between the sleeves 136 and the fixed structureat one end of the rod. These springs urge the plate 126 toward the leftin FIGURES 5 and 9 to maintain pressure between the roller 122 and theflange 120 to develop the friction necessary to drive the turntable.

FIGURE 9 shows one of the wheels 34 by which the turntable is supportedwhen in folded condition, and on which the turntable is trundled into atruck or from one location to another. Each wheel 34 is a castor wheelwith an axle 142 attached to a castor frame 144. The castor frameswivels about a vertical axis in a sleeve 146 and has a thrust bearing148 for carrying the weight of the turntable.

The sleeve 146 is vertically movable in a guide bearing 152 welded orotherwise secured to the frame of the turntable. The sleeve 146 ismovable up and down in the guide bearing 152. In FIGURE 9 the sleeve 146is shown in full lines in its lowered position. The top of the sleeve144 is practically even with the upper end of the guide bearing 152 whenthe sleeve 146 and the wheel 34 are in their lowered position whentrundling the turntable.

When the sleeve 146 is moved upward in the guide bearing 152, the upperend of the sleeve extends above the upper end of the guide bearing 152as indicated in dotted lines in FIGURE 9. A pin 155, extending throughthe side of the guide bearing 152 and into any one of several holes 156at different levels in the sleeve 146, holds the sleeve 146 in anydesired extended or retracted position wit-h respect to the guidebearing 152.

The preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated anddescribed, but changes and modifications can be made and some featurescan be used in different combinations without departing from theinvention as defined in the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A turntable comprising a base having two sections of track thereon,other sections of track hinged to the base at opposite sides thereof andforming with the sections on the base a complete circle of track, aplatform having wheels that run on the track and by which the platformis supported from the track, the platform being made of a plurality ofportions including a center portion and flap portions hinged to thecenter portion for folding the platform, characterized by the centerportion of the platform corresponding with the base and the flapportions of the platform corresponding to the sections of track that arehinged to the base, the hinge connections of the track sections to thebase being parallel to the hinge connections of the flap portions to thecenter portion of the platform for one position of the platform aboutits axis of rotation.

2. The turnable described in claim 2 charactertized by the hingeconnections of the flap portions of the platform being spaced from oneanother by a distance greater than the spacing of the hinge connectionsof the track sections from one another whereby the flap portions canswing upwardly and inward of the positions of the track sections whenthe platform is to be folded.

3. The turnable described in claim 2 characterized by connectionsbetween each of the flap portions of the platform and a correspondingsection of the track and by which the flap portion lifts the section oftrack into folded position as the flap is moved into folded position.

4. The turntable described in claim 3 characterized by the connectionsbeing detachable for release and lowering of the track sections at a newlocation before the flaps are lowered to cover the track sections.

5. A turntable comprising a base having two sections of track thereon,other sections of track hinged to the base at opposite sides thereof andforming with the sections on the base a complete circle of track, aplatform having wheels that run on the track and by which the platformis supported from the track, the platform being made of a plurality ofportions including a center portion and flap portions hinged to thecenter portion for folding the platform, characterized by the baseincluding a center bearing and a platform having a complementary bearingthat runs on the center bearing to give the platform a rotation about acenter that is fixed with respect to the base, a driving roller on thebase, mechanical operating mechanism for driving the roller, and acircular rail extending down from the platform and into contact with theroller.

6. The turntable described in claim 5 characterized by the circular railhaving parts of its angular extent connected with the center portion ofthe platform and having other parts of its angular extent connected withthe flap portions as a unitary assembly with said flap portions andadapted to fold therewith, the mechanical operating mechanism includinga reversible electric motor and retractable spring means urging theroller against the rail, and means for changing the speed of theturntable.

7. A turntable comprising a base having two sections of track thereon,other sections of track hinged to the base at opposite sides thereof andforming with the sections on the base a complete circle of track, aplatform having wheels that run on the track and by which the platformis supported from the track, the platform being made of a plurality ofportions including a center portion and flap portions hinged to thecenter portion for folding the platform, characterized by the flapportions of the platform having angular movement about their hingeconnections to the center portion of the platform g ter t an 90, andbeing movable from substa tially horizontal positions to verticalpositions and then beyond the vertical positions so that the flapportions converge toward one another over the center portion as theyextend upward, and a support on the center portion of the platformagainst which the flap portions lean and for preventing further movementof the flap portions toward one another when they are in predeterminedupwardly-extending angular positions.

8. A turntable comprising a base having two sections of track thereon,other sections of track hinged to the base at opposite sides thereof andforming with the sections on the base a complete circle of track, aplatform having wheels that run on the track and by which the platformis supported from the track, the platform being made of a plurality ofportions including a center portion and flap portions hinged to thecenter portion for folding the platform, characterized by the tracksections and the flap portions of the platform being foldable aboutparallel hinge connections when the platform is in a predeterminedangular position about its center of rotation and with respect to thebase, and wheels on the base for moving the folded platform from onelocation to another.

9. The turntable described in claim 8 characterized by the wheels on thebase being connected to the base by extendable connections movable intoa retracted position to raise the wheels above the level of the bottomof the track, and into an extended position to lower the wheels belowthe level of the bottom of the track whereby the entire weight of thefolded turntable is carried on said wheels.

10. The turntable described in claim 9 characterized by the wheels onthe base vbeing connected to the base by telescopic connections, meansfor locking the telescopic connections in extended and in retractedpositions, and the connections of the wheels to the base includingswivel brackets connected to the base at locations which make the wheelsoperate as caster wheels for rolling in different directions.

11. A turntable comprising a base assembly having a center frame, sideframes on either side of the center frame, hinges connecting the sideframes to the center frame and on which the side frames swing upwardinto folded positions to reduce the width of the turntable, a platformassembly having a center portion, flap portions on either side of thecenter portion, hinges connecting the flap portions to the centerportion and on which the flap portions swing upward into foldedpositions to reduce the width of the turntable, a sectional trackconnected to and forming a part of one of the assemblies and made insections for folding with the other parts of the assembly, and wheelsconnected to and forming a part of the other of the assemblies and someof which are connected with different parts of said other of theassemblies and located in position, when both assemblies are in unfoldedposition, to run on the track and to support the platform assembly fromthe base assembly.

References (Zited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 809,321 1/1906Peters 108-94 X 905,018 11/1908 Sulliran et a] 108-20 1,553,528 9/1925Hartong 108-20 1,789,562 1/1931 Penniman et al. 108-20 2,075,918 4/1937Waakes 108-20 X 2,447,072 8/ 1948 Jones 108-22 2,494,242 1/1950 Hardy108-20 X FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner. G. O. FINCH, AssistantExaminer.

1. A TURNTABLE COMPRISING A BASE HAVING TWO SECTIONS OF TRACK THEREON,OTHER SECTIONS OF TRACK HINGED TO THE BASE AT OPPOSITE SIDES THEREOF ANDFORMING WITH THE SECTIONS ON THE BASE A COMPLETE CIRCLE OF TRACK, APLATFORM HAVING WHEELS THAT RUN ON THE TRACK AND BY WHICH THE PLATFORMIS SUPPORTED FROM THE TRACK, THE PLATFORM BEING MADE OF A PLURALITY OFPORTIONS INCLUDING A CENTER PORTION AND FLAP PORTIONS HINGED TO THECENTER PORTION FOR FOLDING THE PLATFORM, CHARACTERIZED BY THE CENTERPORTION OF THE PLATFORM CORRESPONDING WITH THE BASE AND THE FLAPPORTIONS OF THE PLATFORM CORRESPONDING TO THE SECTIONS OF